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THE 
OF AMERICA 

COMPARED WITH 

SOIMEXS XSUB.OFISA2>r COU£9rTB.XES, 

PAUTICCLAKLT 

ENGLAND: 
A DISCOURSE 

BELITERED 

Jn Trinity Church, and in St. PauPs and St. John's Chapels^ 
in the City of New -York, October, 1825. 



BY / 

JOHN HENRY HOBART, D. D. 

Hector of the said Church and Chapels, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 

State of New- York, and Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pulpit Eloquence 

in the General Theological Seminary. 



PRINTED BY T. AND J. SWORDS, 

No. 99 Pearl-street. 




1825. 



E 



V\ 



TO 

JOSHUA WATSON, Esq, 

TREASURER OF THE SOCIETY (iN ENGLAND) FOR PROMOTING 
CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, 

ONE OF HIS majesty's COMMISSIONERS FOR THE BUILDING 
OF CHURCHES, 

SfC. SfC. ^C. 

My DEAR Sir, 

T KNOW too well your attachment to Eng- 
land, to suppose that you will approve of all the sentiments 
expressed in this discourse. But I have received too 
many evidences of your candour and liberality, to be for a 
moment apprehensive that you will censure an American 
for the frank, but, I trust, decorous avowal which he makes 
of his preference for the institutions of his own country; 
accompanied as this avowal is, by the declaration of the 
debt of gratitude which is due to your's, for those civil 
and religious blessings which his countrymen have derived, 
as their best inheritance, from the land of their fathers. 

My object in dedicating this discourse to you, is to ex- 
press the feelings of private gratitude; and to bear testi- 
mony to eminent Christian worth, and to zeal devoted and 
unwearied in the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, 
Your favourable opinion of some of my early publications, 
in which 1 advocated the cause of " evangelical truth" 
in union with " Apostolic order," introduced me to the 
notice of individuals in England, whose attachment to that 
truth and order, and whose exalted character and station 
and influence, render their friendship most honourable 



IV DEDICATION. 

and valuable fo me. At your hospitable board f often met 
this honoured circle; and in yoursociet), and that of your 
interesting family and friends, I spent some of the most 
delightful hours that solaced my absence from my country, 
my diocese, my congregations, and my home. 

But, my dear Sir, it is in your public character that I 
most admire, honour, and venerate you. As the prudent 
and wise, and uniform friend of the Church, divinely con- 
stituted in her sacra;sients, ministry, and worship, to be 
the guardian of the faith once delivered to the Saints, you 
devote your time, your talents, and your fortune, to her 
interests and advancement; and in this exalted work of 
Christian benevolence, you are associated with the highest 
dignitaries of the Church of England, and with some of the 
nobles of that land. But 1 esteem it a still more enviable 
distinction, that in primitive principles, in unaffected piety, 
in every amiable virtue of the Christian, the name of 
Watson is not unworthy of being ranked with those of 
J^elson, of fVogan, of Waldo, and of Stevens, * 

That your life, so valuable to the large circle of your 
friends, and to that Church to which it is devoted, may to 
a distant period be prolonged in health, in usefulness, and 
in happiness, is the fervent prayer of, 
My dear Sir, 

Your very faithful, affectionate, 
And obliged friend, 

J. H. HOBART» 
J^ewYork, Nov, 18, 1825. 



THE 

UNITED STATES, &c. 



PSALM cxxxvii. 4, 5, 6, 

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget 
thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I 
do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. 

X HIS exclamation of lively and deep affection for 
the land which was " blessed of heaven above and of 
" the deep that lieth under," and for that Zion where 
God delighted to dwell, uttered by the Israelites when 
captive by the rivers of Babylon, expresses forcibly 
and pathetically the feelings which must often rise in 
the bosom of him who, from motives of health, of busi- 
ness, or of pleasure, sojourns a voluntary exile in dis- 
tant climes, from such a country as that, brethren, of 
which we may be proud, and such a Zion as tliat 
which engages, I trust, our best affections* Often, 



6 The United States of America 

O how often ! have these feelings of strong and affec- 
tionate preference for the country and the church 
which he had left, deeply occupied the mind of him, 
who now wishes to thank the Father of mercies that 
he is permitted again to address you in these walls, 
sacred on account of the objects to which they are 
devoted, and endeared to him as the place where 
he has mingled with you in supplications and praises 
to the God of all grace and goodness, and delivered 
with much infirmity indeed — (this is not the place 
nor the time for the affectation of humility) — in much 
infirmity indeed, but he can and he will say, in 
sincerity, the messages of the Most High and the 
words of salvation. They were feelings excited not 
only in those distant lands less capable of being com- 
pared in their physical aspect, and in their civil, 
and social, and religious institutions, with his native 
clime, but even in that with which the comparison 
is more natural and obvious; which must always 
come with lively excitement on our feelings, as the 
land of our fathers ; and which, with all its faults, pre- 
sents even to our impartial, and calm, and scrutinizing 
judgment, so many claims to our admiration and love. 
Yes, even in that land whose fame is sounded through- 
out the earth, which its sons proudly extol (we need 
not wonder at the boast in them) as the first and 
the best of the nations, whose destiny she has often 



compared with — England. 7 

wielded — even there, where nature has lavished some 
of her choicest bounties, art erected some of her no- 
blest monuments, civil polity dispensed some of her 
choicest blessings, and religion opened her purest 
temples — even there (and he thinks the sentiment was 
not that of the excusable but blind impulse which in- 
stinctively attaches us to the soil that gave us birth) 
his heart deeply cherished, and his observation and 
reflection have altogether sanctioned, lively and affec- 
tionate preference, in almost every point of comparison, 
for his own dear native land, and for the Zion with 
which Providence has connected him. And often in 
the fulness of those feelings has he poured forth the 
exclamation which the fulness of feeling now recals — 
" How shall I sing the Lord's song in a strange land? 
<^ If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand 
^* forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, 
'' let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I 
" prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 

I have not been accustomed, my brethren, to ob- 
trude on you, in this place, my private thoughts and 
feelings, particularly when connected with topics not 
strictly appropriate to the pulpit. Yet on an occasion 
like the present, I think I shall secure your indulgence 
if I do so. The event that unites, after a long separa- 
tion, a pastor with a flock who, through a course of 
years, has been so indulgent to his infirmities, so lenient 



8 The United States of America 

to his deficiencies and failings, and so disposed to over- 
rate his services ; who have loaded him, and those more 
immediately dear to him, with so many favours ; and 
who now welcome, with those delicate, and tender, and 
warm greetings that go to the heart, his return among 
them, is surely one in which the predominance and the 
expression of personal feelings are not only excusable, 
but natural and proper, and to be expected. Bear with 
me then, if for a short time^ — and with such concerns it 
ought only to be for a short time — I occupy you with 
some of those reflections which forcibly occurred to 
me during my absence, and which now press them- 
selves on my thoughts and feelings. And I wish to do 
so with the view, which I trust will sanction topics as 
well as a style of address not common in this place, of 
confirming your enlightened and zealous attachment 
to your country and your church. 

It is a common observation, and there are few com- 
mon observations which are not founded in nature and 
in truth, that we know not the full value of our bless- 
ings until we are deprived of them. Certainly I knew 
not the value of mine. I speak not of my private 
comforts and blessings; of the greatest of all, the 
family and the faithful friends, with whom I could 
pour out my soul, and to whose endearing society I 
could flee, and be for a while at rest. I speak not of 



compared with — England. 9 

my congregations and my diocese, from my connection 
with which I derived so many exalted gratifications. 
But I allude to those public blessings which I enjoyed 
in common with all the citizens of this eminently 
favoured land — blessings, physical^ literary^ civile and 
religious — which while they elevate us as a nation, call 
loudly for our thanks to him who assigns to the nations 
their destinies, and for the cultivation of all those 
principles and virtues which only can make our bless- 
ings salutary and permanent. 

We have heard of the fertile soil which, in other 
lands, makes so abundant a return to the light and 
easy labour that tills it. Our feelings have glowed with 
delight or thrilled with awe at the descriptions which 
have vividly presented to our imaginations, the beau- 
tiful or the sublime scenery for which other countries 
have been so long celebrated. We have perhaps 
sighed for those distant climes, whose skies are re- 
presented as glowing with serene and almost perpetual 
radiance, and whose breezes bear health and cheeriness 
to the decaying and languid frame. And undoubtedly 
in these respects, it would be absurd to urge a supe- 
riority over some other lands, or altogether an equality 
with them. But the comparison was less adverse to 
our own claims than I had supposed. We boast not 
indeed of Alps rising on Alps with wild and snow- 
crowned summits, sheltering within their precipitous 

2 ' 



10 The United States of America 

and lofty ridges, vallies that beam with the liveliest' 
verdure and bear the richest productions of the earth. 
Yet the warmest admirer of nature, after having feasted 
on these tremendously sublime or exquisitely beautiful 
scenes, would still be able to turn with refreshing 
pleasure to the contemplation of the varied and bold 
outlines, that mark the extensive mountains which 
range through our own country ; of the highly cultivated 
fields that occupy their vallies and variegate the massy 
forests which mount up their sides ; of the long and 
majestic rivers that proudly traverse the plains, or 
burst through the lofty hills which oppose them; and 
even of that sky, if not always as genial, often as 
serene and glowing as that of the most favoured of the 
southern regions of Europe, and which illumines the 
fertile soil that it nourishes and enriches. The traveller 
here, indeed, is not surprised and elevated and 
delighted by the stupendous castles which guard the 
mountain pass, or proclaim in their more interesting 
ruins, that they were the place of refuge or the point 
of assault. He sees not the large and imposing 
edifices which embosomed in the groves of some rich 
valley, or pointing some lofty hill, proclaim the taste 
as well as the piety of the ecclesiastics, who here daily 
and almost hourly raise the responsive strains of devo- 
tion. Nor is he astonished at the splendour that beams 
from the immense structures which wealth has erected 



compared with — England. 1 1 

for the gratification of private luxury or pride. But 
he can see one feature of every landscape here^ one 
charm of American scenery, which more than repays for 
the absence of these monuments of the power, and the 
grandeur, and the wealth, and the taste of the rich and 
the mighty of other lands — and which no other land 
affords. The sloping sides and summits of our hills, 
and the extensive plains that stretch before our view, 
are studded with the substantial and neat and com- 
modious dwellings o^ freemen — independent freemen, 
owners of the soil — men who can proudly walk over 
their land and exultingly say — It is mine ; I hold it 
tributary to no one ; it is mine. No landscape here is 
alloyed by the painful consideration, that the castle 
which towers in grandeur, was erected by the hard 
labour of degraded vassals ; or that the magnificent 
structure which rises in the spreading and embellished 
domain, presents a painful contrast to the meaner 
habitations, and sometimes the miserable hovels that 
mark a dependent, always a dependent — alas, some- 
times a wretched peasantry. 

To one country, in some particulars, this infant na- 
tion, and older nations, must indeed yield a proud and 
inaccessible pre-eminence — in those arts of which it is 
well said that they embellish life ; which present, with 
all the vivid charms of painting, and all the energy 
and grace and expression of sculpture, the human face 



12 The United States of America 

and the human form divine, or embody those events 
that interest every feeling of the soul, which history 
has recorded or which imagination forms — in those 
classical recollections that bring before our delighted 
feelings the brightest names of genius, of eloquence, 
and of taste ; and associate, with all that is great and 
alas ! also all that is mean, with the ardent struggles 
and triumphs of freedom and the cruel and bloody 
deeds of remorseless tyranny, the eventful progress, 
celebrated in strains that form, and will form, the model 
of all which is noble in sentiment, and graceful in dic- 
tion — of a small band of exiles, confined to a narrow 
spot of soil, to that station from which they looked 
down on a prostrate and subject world. 

But even in that station, in the very seat from which 
once issued the mandates that ruled the nations, amidst 
the awe-inspiring and soul- delighting ruins of imperial 
Rome, the citizen of these States may stand, and say 
with the mingled feelings of commiseration and ex- 
ultation — How are the mighty fallen ! I would not ex- 
change the freedom, the independence, the substantial 
comfort and happiness that distinguish the infant coun- 
try that owns and protects me, for all that recollection 
can supply of what is great and glorious in genius or 
in achievements, or all that art can furnish delightful 
to the eye or grateful to the feelings, which alas ! now 
only serve to mark with greater humiliation, the fall, 



compared tvith — England, 13 

and abject condition of oppressed, enslaved, and de- 
graded Italy. 

And he may also say, that, in the arrangement of 
our cities and villages, and in the modern structures, 
civil and religious, that adorn them, with the exception 
of those which in Italy constitute the wonder of ad- 
miring crowds, and of that which, in the metropolis 
of England, rises with imposing grandeur, we need 
scarcely yield in the comparison to any other nation.* 

Even in our literary institutions, their present im- 
proved and extended organization embraces a larger 
scope of science in connection with efficiency of opera- 
tion, with the practical application of talent and learning 
to the great purposes of instruction, than some foreign 
institutions.^ 



a The public squares of European cities exceed in number those 
of our own ; and the fountains that pla^ in the humblest villages 
of Italy, and constitute so striking an ornament of Rome, are not 
here to be seen. But in our cities, the churches and public build- 
ings will in many respects vie with the similar modnn struc- 
tures in the cities of Europe; our streets are wider and better 
arranged; and our country villages afford more evidences of sub- 
stantial comfort than those of any other country, except England. 
And perhaps no city can boast of a promenade superior, if equal, 
in point of prospect, to the Battery in ISew- York. 

^ It would be absurd to say that foreign universities are not dis- 
tinguished by intellect and learning of the highest order ; but this 
intellect and learning are not ahcays brought into as great practical 
efficiency as in our colleges, where the professors are engaged, for 
the greater part of the year, in the active business of instruction, 



14 The United States of America 

But it is in our civil and religious institutions that 
we may, without the imputation of vain-glory, boast 
the pre-eminence. Actual observation will compel 
every traveller through those nations of the continent 
that now succumb under the yoke of despotic power, 
mild and benevolent as in son>e instances is confessedly 
its administration, to feel, however reluctant, the full 

by the daily examination of the students confided to them. In 
the English universities, it is well known tliat classical and ma- 
thematical studies are pursued to the comparative neglect of phy- 
sical and moral science, Jn many of the colleges in these univer- 
sities, instruction is most actively and usefully pursued. But others, 
richly endowed, ar^ considered principally, if not solely, as pro- 
visions for the fellows or members. And with respect to the pre- 
sent operation of these provisions, the following remark is ex- 
tracted from the Quarterly Review published in June last. After 
speaking of a clamour, which has passed away, against " the 
" number and indolence, the prejudice and port, of the resident 
" fellows of colleges," the reviewers attribute to it " the present 
*' custom of dispensings as a matter of course, with the residence 
" of all members of foundations who have taken the degree of 
" Master of Arts ;'' and th^y observe— " Fellowships are sought 
*' for, as helping out the incomes of students in the active profes- 
" sions of life" P. 91. Would not that system be the best, which 
would so occupy the fellows in the business of instruction, as to 
extend this important duty of the universities without burdening 
the fellows so as to prevent their devotion to literature? And should 
not a portion of the immense wealth of the universities be appro- 
priated to the increase of the accommodations for students ? If I 
am correctly informed, it is extremely difficult, from the great 
number of applicants, to obtain admission into the universities; 
so that, from this circumstance, many are excluded ; while the 
great expense of a university education excludes others. Both 
these causes, it is presumed, have had their effect in producing 
the plan, which is likely to succeed, of" a London university." 



compared with — England. 15 

force of the remark, which he may have thought evil 
discontent alone had raised, that the labour and inde- 
pendence and freedom and happiness of the many- 
are sacrificed to the ambition and power and luxury 
of the few* 

Let us never withhold the acknowledgment, that 
from the^r^^ of European nations, drawing our origin, 
we have also derived her admirable principles of civil 
freedom. Rejecting indeed the feudal characteristics 
of her polity, the monarchical and aristocratic features 
of her constitution, we broadly and fearlessly recognize 
the great truth, that though, in its general powers, and 
in its sanctions, government is " ordained of God," in 
the particular form of its administration, " it is the or- 
" dinance of man ;" and that, in this sense, the people 
only are the source of that political power, which, when 
exercised according to the legitimate forms of the con- 
stitution which they have established, cannot be resist- 
ed, but under the penalty of resisting the " ordinance 
" of God." Still, though, in these respects, our go- 
vernments differ from that of England, let us grate- 
fully remember, that from her we have derived not only 
many of her unrivalled maxims of jurisprudence, those 
which protect the freedom of the subject and secure 
the trial by jury, but those great principles which con- 
stitute the superiority of the modern republics above 
the ancient democracies. These are, the principle of re= 



16 The United States of America 

presentation;^ the division of the legislative, executive, 
and judiciary departments; the check on the exercise of 
the power of legislation by its distribution among three 
branches ; the independence of the judiciary on all in- 
fluence, except that of the constitution and the laws; 
and its accountability, and that of the executive, to the 
people, in the persons of their representatives;'' and 
thus what constitutes the characteristic blessing of a 
free people, a government of laws securing to all the 
enjoyment of life, of liberty, and of property. 

But even in this, next to our own, the freest of na- 
tions, it is impossible not to form a melancholy con- 
trast between the power, and the splendor, and the 
wealth of those to whom the structure of society and 
the aristocratic nature of the government assign pecu- 
liar privileges of rank and of political consequence^ 
with the dependent and often abject condition of the 
lower orders; and not to draw the conclusion, that the 
one is the unavoidable result of the other. 

Advantages confessedly there may be in privileged 
orders, as constituting an hereditary and permanent 
source of political knowledge and talent, and of refine- 



« The principle, I say; for in England it is only partially 
carried into practice. 

d Even England's king is accountable, .through his ministers^ 
to the commons of England, theoretically acting in the lower 
house of parliament. 



compared with — England. 17 

ment and elevation of character, of feeling, and of 
manners. And in this view, no men can be more im- 
posing or more interesting than the high-minded noble- 
men and gentlemen of England.^ But, in this imper- 
fect world, we cannot enjoy at the same time all pos- 
sible advantages. And those which result from the 
hereditary elevation of one small class of society, must 
produce in ail the noble qualities which distinguish in- 
dependent freemen, a corresponding depression of the 
great mass of the community. And can we for a mo- 
ment hesitate which state of society to prefer ? No. 
It is the glorious characteristic of our admirable polity, 
that the power, and the property, and the happiness, 
which in the old nations of the world are confined to 
the few, are distributed among the many ; that the 
liveliness and content which pervade the humblest 
classes among us, are not the mere result of that buoy- 
ancy of animal spirits which nature seems to have 
kindly infused into our frame, and which man shares 
with the beast that sports in the field or courses over 
the plain^ — but a sober sentiment of independence, nur- 



^ And yet dissipation and unbounded devotion to pleasure, the 
consequences of idleness and wealth, often contaminate the higher 
ranks, and produce corresponding effects upon the lower. 

f It is cheering to think that, even in this way, there is some*- 
thing which does lighten the chains of the oppressed peasantry of 
Europe. 

3 



18 The United States of America 

tured by the consciousness that, hi natural rights and 
original political power all are equal. The obedience, 
therefore, which fear in a great measure extorts from 
the mass of the people of other countries, is here the 
voluntary offering of a contented and happy, because, 
in the broadest sense of the term — a free people. 

Brethren, I am not the political partizan. You know 
that I have never thus sunk in this sacred place my 
high office. I am not advocating the views or the 
feelings of this or that political party. Happy omen is it 
for our country, (may I not say so?) that on great na- 
tional questions parties no longer exist. But I do ad- 
vocate that in which there should be no difference of 
opinion among us — the distinguishing features of our 
free government. These are topics of general political 
and civil interest, not inappropriate at certain times 
(and I think this is one of them) to the sanctity even 
of this place. Nor on these points, nor on any others 
which I shall present to you, have I substantially 
changed my opinions : but undoubtedly the situation 
in which Providence has placed me, of considerable 
observation and reflection abroad, has powerfully con- 
firmed me in them all — and I feel it my duty to tell 
you so. 

But I hasten to subjects on which I feel myself more 
at home. It is the religious freedom of my country 



compared with — England, 19 

that constitutes, in my view, one of her proudest 
boasts. Protected as religion is by the state, which 
finds in her precepts and spirit and sanctions, the best 
security for social happiness and order, she is left free 
to exert her legitimate powers, uninfluenced and unre- 
strained by any worldly authority whatsoever. And the 
happy effect is seen in the zeal with which her institu- 
tions are supported, as far as the ability of an infant 
country, and a spreading, and in many cases sparse and 
humble population, will admit ; in the prevalence of 
those moral and social virtues that arc among her best 
fruits ; and above all, in less, much less of that hosti- 
lity to her divine origin and character, which in other 
countries her unhallowed perversion to political pur- 
poses inspires and cherishes. The continent of Europe 
witnesses the arm of secular and ecclesiastical power 
exerted, in some parts, in the extension and restoration^ 
in all its rigour, of a religion which alloys and contami- 
nates the pure spirit of the Gospel by numerous super- 
stitions and corruptions. And among those that once 
professed a purer faith, owing to their destitution of 
the best guards against heresy, the Apostolic constitu- 
tion of the ministry and a prescribed liturgy and ritual^ 
an indifference and laxness prevail, which can hear 
uttered as the oracles of truth, the most absurd and 
blasphemous heresies, and listen, even in the temple of 
the Most High, to those metaphysical speculation 



20 21 le United States of America 

which would terminate in the doubt of his existence 
and his attributes. ^ 

From the melancholy view of the corruptions and 
superstitibns that disfigure, and the heresies that sub- 
vert the pure principles of Christianity among the na- 
tions of the continent, let us turn to that Church, which 
every heart among us must revere and love as the 
Church of our fathers — by whom our own Zion (let 
this never be forgotten) was planted, and long sedu- 
lously and affectionately nourished ; and which, what- 
ever may be the defects and faults that are caused 
by those human admixtures which are extraneous to 
her Apostolic and primitive character, still in that cha- 
racter, and in the zeal and liberality with which she 
expends her wealth and her labour in the diffusion of 
Christianity, must call forth our warm admiration, af- 
fection, and applause. And in union with this general 
sentiment, the American Episcopal Church, I repeat 
it, should cherish, as another tie which binds her to 
this Church, gratitude for her *' first foundation, and 
" for a long continuance of nursing care and protec- 



g The present state of "German Protestantism" is ably and 
eloquently exhibited in a course of sermons, preached in iVlay last, 
before the University of Cambridge, by the Rev. Hugh James 
Rose; who, for genius, learning, eloquence, and })rimitive prin- 
ciples, zeal and piety, ranks among tiie most distinguished clergy 
of the Ciiurch of England; and whom I am proud and happy to 
call my friend. 



compared with — England. 21 

" tion." Still she has cause of congratulation, that 
having received, through the Church of England,'' the 
faith as it was once delivered to the saints, the ministry 
as it was constituted by the Apostles of our Lord, and 
a worship conformable to that of the first Christian 
ages, she professes and maintains them in their primi- 
tive integrity, without being clogged or controlled by 
that secular influence and power which sadly obstruct 
the progress of the Church of England, and alloy her 
Apostolic and spiritual character. 

Look at the most important relation which the 
Church can constitute, that which connects the pastor 
with his flock. In the Church of England, this con- 
nection is absolute property. The livings are in the gift 
of individuals, of the government, or corporate bodies ; 
and can be, and are, bought and sold like other pro- 
perty. Hence, like other property, they are used for 
the best interests of the holders, and are frequently 
made subservient to the secular views of individuals 
and families. And they present an excitement to enter 
into the holy ministry, with too great an admixture of 
worldly motives, and with a spirit often falling short of 
that pure and disinterested iirdour which supremely 



'» And the American Episcopal Church ought not to forget her 
debt of gratitude to the ancient Episcopal Church of Scotland j 
hy whose Bishops her first Bishop (Seabury) was consecrated. 



22 The United States of America 

aims at the promotion of God's glory and the salvation 
of mankind.* . 

The connection thus constituted entirely indepen- 
dent of the choice or wishes of the congregation, is 
held entirely independent of them. And such are the 
gross and lamentable obstructions to the exercise of 
discipline, from the complicated provisions and forms 
of their ecclesiastical law, that common, and even 
serious clerical irregularities, are not noticed. In a case 
of recent notoriety, abandoned clerical profligacy could 
not be even tardily subjected to discipline, but at an 
immense pecuniary sacrifice on the part of the Bishop 
who attempted to do that to which his consecration 
vows solemnly bind him.^ 

• The mode of support by tythes, though perhaps, as 
part of the original tenure of property, not unreasonable 
nor oppressive, is still calculated to prevent, in many 



' Many are the cases of honourable patronage, and of entrance 
into the ministry from the purest motives. But the general ten- 
dency of the system is, I conceive, as above stated. 

^ A petition was presented, during the last session of parliament, 
to the House of Lords and the House of Commons, complaining of 
the Rector of a parish, who had for years been notorious for the 
grossest profligacy. The Bishop of Lincoln stated in his place in 
the House of Lords, that owing to the operation of certain formali- 
ties in the ecclesiastical courts, he had hitherto ineffectually endea- 
voured to subject this clergyman to discipline ; and considered it as 
a hardship, that in this discharge of duty he had been already sub- 
jected to an expense of several hundred pounds sterling. The de- 
bate on this occasion was published in the English newspapers. 



compared with — England. 23 

cases, cordial and affectionate intercourse between mi- 
nister and people. Indeed, even where clerical duty- 
is conscientiously discharged, the state of things does 
not invite that kind of intercourse subsisting among us, 
which leads the pastor into every family, not merely as 
its pastor, but its friend. 

I need not observe how superior, in all these re- 
spects, are the arrangements (doubdess not without 
their inconveniences, for no human system is perfect) 
of our Church. To the congregations is secured the 
appointment of their clergymen, under regulations that 
prevent, in episcopal supervision and control, the choice 
of heretical or unworthy persons, and his support arises 
from their voluntary contributions, — the connection is 
thus one of choice, and therefore of confidence and ' 
affection.* The provisions for ecclesiastical discipline 

^ In the few cases of popular appointment of Rector or Lecturer 
in the Church of England, every inhabitant of the parish, (which 
is a district of a certain extent,) whether he be a Churchman or 
dissenter, a Jr w;, an injidt'l or a heretic, has a right to vote • and 
the canvassing which takes place, and the elections which ensue 
are often attended with unpleasant occurrences. None of these 
inconveniences are felt in the American Episcopal Church ; where 
the choice of the minister is, in the larger churches, generally 
made by the vestry, who are a select number of Episcopalians 
chosen by the pew-holders in that particular church, to manage 
their affairs. In the smaller churches, the congregation sometimes 
choose their clergyman ; which is done by private consultation, or 
by assembling in the church for that purpose : and from the force 
of public opinion, any thing like canvassing, any efforts made bv 
a clergyman to promote his election, would powerfully tend to , 



24 2'he United States of America 

can arrest the progress of the unworthy clergyman, and 
put him away from the congregations *he is injuring 
and destroying, and the church which he is disgracing; 
and happy are the effects in the general zeal and 
purity and exemplary lives of the clergy, and the affec- 
tionate intercourse that subsists between them and their 
flocks."" Often have I taken pride and pleasure in ex- 
citing the astonishment of those who supposed and 
contended that the voluntary act of the people would 
not adequately provide for the clergy, by stating in my 

defeat it. In case the BishojD be not satisfied that the person so 
chosen is a '^ qualified minister," provision is made for inquiring 
into the sufficiency of the person so chosen, and for the confirma- 
tion or rejection by the Bishop of the appointment, as the issue of 
the inquiry may be. 

^ The canons of the Church, in every diocese, make provision for 
the trial of clergymen on presentment to the Bishop, by the vestry 
of the church of which he is minister, by a certain number of pres- 
byters, by the convention of the clergy and lay representation of 
the diocese, or by a stanciing committee of a certain number of 
presbyters and laymen chosen by the convention. And the Bishop, 
either in virtue of his episcopal superintendence generally, or of 
the provisions of the canons, may, in case of rumours seriously 
affecting the character of a clergyman, appoint a board of clergy- 
men and laymen, to inquire whether there be cause of present- 
ment; and if there be so in their judgment, to present accord- 
ingly. Tlie ecclesiastical sentence, canonicaUy pronounced by the 
Bishop after a canonical trial, will always be ratified by the civil 
courts, should an appeal be made to them on a suit for damages. 
In all such cases, the courts only inquire whether the individual 
has been tried according to the rules of the denomination of Chris- 
tians to which he belongs, and to which rules he has voluntarily 
subjected himself. 



compared with — England, 25 

own case ; the continuance of my salary ; the provision 
for my parochial duty ; and the ample funds by which I 
was enabled to leave my congregations and my diocese. 
Advance higher in the relations that subsist in the 
Church, to those which connect a Bishop with his dio- 
cese. The commission of the Bishop, his Episcopal 
authority, is conveyed to him by the Bishops who 
consecrate him. But the election of the person to 
be thus consecrated is nominally in the Dean and 
Chapter of the cathedral of the diocese ; and theoreti- 
eally in the King, who gives the Dean and Chapter 
permission to elect the person, and only the person, 
whom he names ; and thus, in the actual operation of 
what is more an aristocratical than a monarchical go- 
vernment, the Bishops are appointed by the Cabinet 
or the Prime Minister; and hence, with some most 
honourable exceptions, principally recent, the appoint- 
ments have notoriously been directed with a view to 
parliamentary influence. Almost all the prelates that 
have filled the English sees, have owed their advance- 
ment not solely as it ought to have been, and as, in our 
system it must generally be, to their qualifications for the 
ofiice ; but to a secular interest, extraneous from spiri- 
tual or ecclesiastical considerations." 

" I have often heard the remark made in England, and so 
pubHcly that I cannot be accused of indelicacy in here stating 
it, that no Prime Minister before the present (Lord Liverpool) 
manifested scarcely any regard, in his ecclesiastical appointraentSj 

4 



26 The United States of America 

Advance still higher — to the Church in her exalted 
legislative capacity, as the enactor of her own laws, 

to otlier considprations than family or parliamentary influence. 
In the Church of Ireland, until recently, this influence has alone 
prevailed. In the Church of England, the Bench of Bishops is at 
present most honourahl}/ filled. It is doubted whether the see of 
Canterbury could be occupied by a prelate uniting so many quali- 
fications for the office as those which render the life of Archbishop 
Sutton of such value to the Church over which he presides. With 
the most singular talent for business, he is unwearied in his devotion 
to the multiplied concerns that daily claim his attention; and iii 
every thing that he says, and in every thing that he does, there 
are a prudence and propriety, a dignity and condescension, a deco- 
rum and grace, which never fail to inspire with high reverence 
and respect, and at the same time with pleasure and delight, all 
who witness him in the oflicial station or in the private circle. 
Elevated as the Metropolitan of England is above all the Peers, 
except those of the Royal Family, and allied by birth as the pre- 
sent metropolitan is with one of the noblest and most powerful 
families of that country, I considered as an act of kind attention 
the invitation which I received from him, to accompany him to 
the House of Lords, at the opening of Parliament. And I could 
not but admire the unaffected dignity and the mild courtesy which 
distinguished him. On this occasion, and on others, the attentions 
of himself and liis family were the most gratifying that I could 
possibly receive, and have made an impi'ession on my mind which, 
will never be effaced, and have excited feelhigs of gratitude which 
will never be extinguished. 

I owe the same acknowledgments most particularly to tlie pre- 
late (Dr. Howleij,) whose exalted learning, and worth, and devo- 
tion to duty, are of such great advantage to the diocese o^ London 
—to the Bishop of Llandaff (Dr. Van Mildcrt,) whose extensive 
and deep theological attainments are always actively employed in 
the defence of primitive truth and order — to the Bishop of Peter- 
hrjrough (Dr. Marsh,) and the Bishop of SnUshary (Dr. Bur-- 
gfss,) whose critical acumen and learning, though sometimes ex- 
erted in defence of opposite points of classical or theological spc- 



compared with — Euglamh 27 

and regulations, and canons. The Convocation, the 
legitimate legislature of the Church of England, and the 

culation, are so great an honour to the Church — to tlie Bishop of 
Durham (Dr. BarringfoUy) who, in a long life, has munificently 
applied his patronage to the most useful and benevolent purposes 
— to the Bishop of Litclifipld and Covfntry {I>v. Ryfler,) whose 
exemplary piety and episcopal activity are so generally acknow- 
ledged — and especially to the recently appointed Eishop of 
Chester (Dr. Bloomjieldj) who, distinguished by the highest clas- 
sical reputation, promises in his theological and episcopal career 
to attain the most elevated station of honour and of usefulness. 
From these, and from some other Bishops, especially the excellent^ 
and learned, and active Bishop o{ Limerick (Dr. Jebh,") I received, 
as far as opportunity offered, the kindest aitentions. And I hope I 
shall be pardoned for this public acknowledgment of them ; parti- 
cularly as my further abject is to remark, in reference to the senti- 
ment expressed in the discourse, that eminently, most eminently 
worthy as those prelates are of their exalted station, it may be 
doubted whether, if they had not been of nobie birth or alliance, 
or possessed, from their connection as tutors with noble families, 
or from other cause, of what is called interest, they would have 
filled the high stations which they now adorn. The same remark 
will apply generally to other cases of court patronage. And the 
evil is, the exclusion sometimes of superior merit, in consetjuence 
of the want o{ intfreat ; and sometimes the advancement of those 
who have little /jf any other pretensions than the possession of 
this inter est. 

In the American Episcopal Church, the Bishop of every diocese 
is chosen in diocesan convention of the clergy, and the lay repre- 
sentatives of congregations; each clergyman and each congrega- 
tion having one vote; the concurrence of a majority of the clergy 
and of a majority of the delegates being necessary to a choice. 
The person elected by the diocesan convention, must be recom- 
mended to the Bishops by a majority of the standing committees 
of the respective dioceses, consisting of a certain number of clergy- 
men and laymen chosen by the conventions thereof; or by the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies of the General Convention : 



28 The United States of America 

high grand inquest of the Church, has not exercised 
its functions for more than a century. And the only 
body that legislates for a Church thus bound by the 
state and stripped of her legitimate authority, is parlia- 
ment, with unlimited powers — a House of Lords, 
where the presiding officer may be, and it is said has 
been, a dissenter — a House of Commons, where 
many are avowed dissenters, and where, whenever 
church topics are discussed, ample evidence is afforded 
that the greatest statesmen are not always the greatest 
theologians.** 

after which, the Bishops may consecrate or not, according to theii' 
discretion. It seems impossible to devise a better mode of se- 
curing a proper choice of a Bisliop — though doubtless it is liable to 
the inconvenience of party feeling in the diocese; which however, 
if ii should operate in an improper choice, may be counteracted by 
the standing committees, or the House of Clerical and Lay Depu- 
ties in General Convention, who must ratify the choice; or 
by the Bishops, who must consummate it. The clergy and the 
representatives of the congregations are, generally speaking, the 
best judges of the fitness of the person who is to be their Bishop; 
and as they are most interested in a fit choice, it is to be presumed 
that generally they will make it. And the violence of party, if in 
any case excited, will soon sober down, after the choice of the dio- 
cese has been confirmed by the highest ecclesiastical authorities. 

^ The following remarks on the subject of parliamentary theo- 
logy, are extracted from a most able work recently published, en- 
tilled, " Letters to Charles Butler, Esq. on the Theological Parts 
" of his Book of the Roman Catholic Church, by the Rev. Henry 
" Phillpotts, D. D. Rector of Stanhope," in the diocese of Durham — 
a most powerful writer, characterized not more by the compactness, 
the energy, and the condusiv eness of his reasoning, than by the pun- 
jjencvj elegance; and delicacy of the classical style in which that rea- 



compared ivkh—Englajid. 29 

Let me not be misunderstood — I am not speaking 
disrespectfully of dissenters, nor entering into the ques- 
tion of the propriety of their participating in the civil 
government of England. But what business have dis- 
senters with legislating for a Church, from which they 
dissent, and to which they are conscientiously opposed? 

I need not remark to you how superior are the arrange- 
ments of our ecclesiastical constitutions. These provide 
in Diocesan Conventions, consistingof the Bishop, the 
Clergy, and the delegates of congregations ; and in a 
General Convention of the Bishops, the Clergy, and 
the representatives of the Laity, with a negative on 
each other, for the full, efficient, and vigorous exercise 
of the legislative, executive, and judiciary powers of 



zoning is made to reach the understanding, to gratify the taste, and 
to arouse the feelings. This writer observes, (p. 218,) '' Of that ho- 
" nourable assembly, to which I have here alluded, I trust that I shall 
" not be thought likely to speak in terms of purposed disrespect. But 
" I may without offence be permitted to observe, that the Reports of 
^' what passes in its deliberations on subjects like those w hich I am 
" now treating, do not always tend to heighten our veneration for 
" it. If ^ there is no royal road to philosophy,' neither is there 
" any parliamentary short-cut in the science of divinity : — here 
" privilege is of no further use, than to enable its possessors to 
^^ speak peremptorily in a high place, without always * knowing 
" ^ what they say, or whereof they affirm :' in short, * honourable 
" * members,' and even ' honourable and learned members,' must 
" be content to be ignorant, where they will not take the trouble 
" to be informed ; and if they think fit to proclaim their ignorance, 
^< they have only to thank themselves for any exposure to which 
•^' it subjects them." 



30 272^- United States of America 

the Church; and at the same time secure in every 
department, and in every officer, that responsibility 
which is essential to a zealous and correct administation 
of ecclesiastical affairs. 

The principle of our ecclesiastical polity we derive 
from the Church of England. It is the principle which 
its ablest champion, styled, in olden time and in olden 
phrase, " the judicious Hooker," enforces and vindicates 
— that all orders of men affected by the laws, should 
have a voice in making them.^ lln the theory of the ec- 



P " To take away all such mutual grievances, injuries and 
" wrongs, there was no way but only by growing unto composi- 
*^ tien and agreement amongst themselves, by ordaining some 
" kind of government publick, and by yielding themselves subject 
" thereunto ; that unto whom they granted authority to rule or 
" govern, by them the peace, tranquillity, and happy estate of the 
" rest might be procured." (Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, vol.i. 
page 241. Oxford edition.) — " Strifes and troubles would be end- 
" less, except they gave their common consent all to be ordered 
** by some whom they should agree upon. Without which con- 
" sent there were no reason that one man should take upon him 
" to be lord or judge over another." (Ibid. pp. 241, 242.) — 
** Impossible it is that any should have complete lawful power 
" but by consent of men, or immediate appointment of God." 
(Ibid. p. 242.) — " So that, in a word, all publick regiment, of 
" what kind soever, seemeth evidently lo have risen from deli- 
" berate advice, consultation, and composition between men, judg- 
*' ing it convenient and behoveful." (Ibid. p. 243. — " The law- 
" ful power of making laws to command whole politick societies 
" of men, belongeth so properly unto the same entire societies, 
" that for any prince or potentate of what kind soever upon earth 
" to exercise the same of himself, and not eitiier by express com- 
" mission immediately and personally received from God, or else 



compared xvitli — England, SI 

elesiastical constitution of England, the Bishops and the 
Clergy legislate in the upper and lower house of Convo- 
cation ; and the laity in Parliament, whose assent, or that 
of the King, is necessary to all acts of the Convocation. 
But though the Convocation is summoned and meets 
at every opening of Parliament, the prerogative of the 
King is immediately exercised in dissolving it. Hence 
Parliament — a lay body, with the exception of the Bi- 
shops who sit in the House of Lords, and whose in- 
dividual votes are merged in the great mass of the Lay 
Peers — becomes in its omnipotence the sole legislator 
of the Apostolical and spiritual Church of England. 



" by authority derived at the first from their consent upon whose 
" persons they impose laws, it is no better than meer tyranny. 
*' Laws they are not therefore which publick approbation hath not 
" made so." (Ibid, p 246.) — " Till it be proved that some spe- 
*' cial law of Christ hath for ever annexed unto the clergy alone the 
" power to make ecclesiastical laws, we are to hold it a thing 
" most consonant with equity and reason, that no ecclesiastical 
*' laws be made in a Christian commonwealth, without consent as 
*' well of the laity as of the clergy, but least of all without consent of 
" the highest power. For of this thing no man doubteth, namely, 
" that in all societies, companies, and corporations, what severally 
" each shall be bound unto, it must be with all their assents rati- 
" fied. Against all equity it were, that a man should suffer detrl- 
** ment at the hands of men for not observing that which he never 
" did either by himself or by others, mediately or immediately 
" agree unto." (Ibid. vol. iii. pp. S&^^ 369.) — " Peace and justice 
*^ are maintained by preserving unto every order their right, and 
*^ by keeping all estates, as it were, in an even balance." (Ibid. 
|». 369.) 



32 The United States of America 

And the plan has been agitated, of altering by autho- 
rity of Parliament the marriage service of the Church, 
so as to compel the Clergy to dispense with those 
parts which recognize the doctrine of the Trinity, in 
accommodation to the scruples of a certain class of 
dissenters.'! Thanks to that good Providence who 
hath watched over our Zion, no secular authority can 
interfere with, or control our high ecclesiastical as- 
sembly. The imposing spectacle is seen there, of 
her Bishops in one house, and her Clergy and Laity 
by their representatives in another, (analogous to the 
mode of our civil legislation,) exercising legislative, and 
by the Bishops, admonitory authority over the whole 
Church, and co-ordinately enacting the laws that her 
exigencies may demand. Harmony, union, vigour, zeal^ 
like the life-blood of the human frame, are thus sent 
from this heart of our system, into every part of the 
spiritual body — through all the members of our church, 
wliich is destined, we humbly trust, to exhibit not only 
as under the most discouraging circumstances, she has 
always done, in its purity, but in the strength arising 
from increasing numbers, the primitive truth and order 
which Apostles proclaimed and established, and for 

q The plan has not succeeded ; nor is it likely to succeed. But 
the fact of its agitation is mentioned to show the ideas entertained 
of the omnipotmce of Parliament in matters ecclesiastical as well 
as civil. 



compared ivith — England. 33 

which they and a noble army of martyrs laid down 
their lives/' 

^ The Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in America, are identified as to the Episcopacy ; by which is 
meant the divine constitution of the ministry in the orders ol Bi- 
shops, Priests, and Deacons, with their appropriate powers; the 
order of Bishops possessing exclusively the powers of ordination, 
of confirmation, of superintendence, and of supremacy in govern- 
ment. But these Churches differ in many respects in their Epis- 
copal government; which general term not only includes the above 
orders of the ministry, but extends to other offices of human ap- 
pointment ; and especially to the mode by which her ministers 
are vested with jurisdiction ; and to the particular organization of 
her legislative, executive, and judiciary departments. It is correct 
to speak of the divine institution of Episcopacy ; but not as is done 
by some writers of the divine constitution of Episcopal govern- 
ment ; which on many points is of human arrangement, and varies 
in different Episcopal Churches. 

In the American Episcopal Church, the body which exercises 
her legislative power is constituted analogous to the paramount 
civil body of the United States — the Congress. This consists of 
two houses, of senators and representatives of the several states^ 
the concurrence of both being necessary to laws. And the supreme 
authority of the American Episcopal Church is vested in like 
manner in a General Convention of two houses, with co-ordinate 
powers — the House of the Bishops of the several dioceses — and the 
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies from each diocese, chosen by 
the Clergy and representatives of the congregations in diocesan 
Conventions ; the consent of both houses being necessary to the acts 
of the Convention ; and the Clergy and Laity having a negative 
on each other. The government of the Episcopal Church in Ame- 
rica is perhaps even more republican than that of the Presbyterian 
denomination. The legislative bodies of the latter are not divided aa 
that of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is, into two 
houses, similar to the civil legislatures; nor in their ecclesiastical 
assemblies have the Laity, voting as a distinct body, a complete 
negative on the acts of the Clergy, as they have in all the legislative 

5 



34 The United States of America 

I might dwell on other points of comparison — but 
the detail is painful to me, and I forbear/ I forbear 

bodies of the Protestant Episcopal Church. There is also a close 
analogy between the civil government and the government of the 
Episcopal Church in the single and responsible executives — the 
president and governors in the one ; and in the other, the Bishops 
of the several dioceses, originally elective officers, and amenable 
by impeachment of the diocesan Conventions to the general 
council of Bishops. A single executive, securing at once energy 
and responsibility, a feature so valuable in our civil constitutions, 
is unknown to all the forms of Church government, except the 
Episcopal. Let it not be said tiien that there is any inseparable 
alliance between an Episcopal government and monarchy Hap- 
pily without violating the cardinal principles of Episcopacy in the 
divinel}' constituted powers of Bishops, Episcopal government 
may be adapted to any form of civil polity ; and in this country, 
resembles more than any other ecclesiastical government, our civil 
constitutions. 

s I cannot, however, avoid adverting to one or two other par- 
ticulars. It would hardly be supposed, and yet such is the factj 
that the theological requisitions for the ministry, and the provisions 
for theological education in the American Church, are much 
superior to those in the Church of England. With respect to the 
qualifications for orders, in addition to evidence of pious and moral 
character, the canons of the latter church only require that the 
person applying for orders has " taken some degree of school in 
^' either of the universities ; or at the least, that he be able to- 
^' yield an account of his faith in the Latin, according to the articles 
'' of religion ; and to confirm the same by suflTicient testimonies 
" out of the Holy Scriptures." No previous time for theological 
study is specified. Compare with the above meagre requisitions, 
the following, contained in a canon of the American Episcopal 
Church.— (See Appendix, No. L) 

In the Church of England there are really scarcely any public 
provisions for theological education for the ministry. In each of 
the universities there are only two professors of divinity. Their 
duties are confined to delivering at stated times^ a few lectures on 



compared with — England. SS 

also, lest it should be supposed that I delight in 
exposing the weak points of a church, who, with all 

divinity to the university students ; but they have not the especial 
charge of the candidates for orders, who are left to study wJiejt 
and tvhfre and hoio they please. Almost iir.'.nediately on gradu- 
ating, they may apply for orders, with no other theological know- 
ledge than what was obtained in the general course of religious 
studies in the college of which they have been members. 

In the American Episcopal Church, a Theological Seminary, 
under the authority and control of the whole church, is established, 
embracing, under six professorships, a course of tlitologival study 
of three years, in which, for nine months every year, the students 
are daily examined by the professors on the subjects of their 
respective departments. — (See Appendix, No. II.) 

Must not every friend to the Church of England most ardently 
desire that in the universities, distinct and full provision, similar 
to that above named, should be made for theological education ? 
And could there be a better plan than i\mt o( (Jiviniti/ culleges^ 
where the graduates of the other colleges could pursue their theo- 
logical studies under suitable professors and tutors? What an 
incalculable effect would such institutions produce in raising the 
tone of theological and practical qualifications for the ministry, 
and in counteracting the superficial and secular views with which 
that holy function is now too often regarded } A church of such 
wealth and influence as the Church of England, has only to say 
this must be done, and it vould be done. But alas ! the Church 
of England cannot speak nor act. There is no community of 
authoritative acts as in the American Church between the Bishops, 
none between them and the Clergy and the Laity. No Gmeral 
Convention of the Bishops and the representatives of the Clergy 
and Laity, superintends and regulates her concerns. 

The only public bodies of the Church of Ei^gland, are the 
Society for Promoting Christian Knov/ledge, the Society for Pro- 
pagating the Gospel, and the Church JMissionary Society. But 
these have no authoritative power over the internal concern? 
of the church; and are in many respects most loosely organized. 
The business of the two former is regulated by public me'^ring.'-' 



36 The United States of America 

her faults, arising not from her spiritual character, but 
from secular arrangements, is the great blessing and 
hope of England and of Protestant Europe; who, 
notwithstanding defects that obscure her splendour and 
impede her Apostolic influence, I revere and love ; and 
who ranks among her Bishops and Clergy some of the 
highest names for talents, for learning, for piety, and 
for laborious zeal ; and whose friendship and hospitable 
attentions, an honour to any person, I have felt to be 
an hon(;ur to me. I make this acknovvledgment with 
emotions of the liveliest gratitude for the abundant hos- 
pitalities and attentions which gladdened my residence 
among them. But surely this powerful feeling is not to 
repress the exercise of the privilege, and indeed the 



of all the members, in which, as far as votwg is concerned, the 
Bishops may be entirely controlled by the Clerical and Lay mem- 
bers, and the two former by the latter, who it is believed, out num- 
ber them. How much more correct and judicious the principle 
of a concurrent vote by orders in the American Church, so that 
the three orders of Bishops, Clergy, and Laity, have a negative 
on each other. No person I think, who knows the present state 
of the Church of England, but must ardently desire the union of 
the two societies for Propagating the Gospel, and the Church 
Missionary Society, in a nnv society, to be managed by directors 
consisting of the Bishops, of certain of the beneficed Clergy, and 
of officers of the state ; and of the law ; and of other persons 
to be chosen by the members — in this board of direction, adopting 
the principle above mentioned, of voting by orders. The party 
spirit that now rages in that church, would thus be allayed, and 
the greatest efficiency given to the operations of the Church of 
England, in the important work of propagating the Gospel. 



compared zvith — England. 37 

duty of every person who may have the opportunity, 
of comparing his own country and church with others, 
not for the unworthy purpose of petty boasting, but in 
the elevated view and hope, however humble his influ- 
ence, of advancing the great interests of the human 
kind, and the divine cause of the kingdom and church 
of Jesus Christ. Hospitalities and attentions, estimable 
as they may be, would, at such a price, be much too 
dearly purchased. 

No — I revere and love England and its church; 
but I love my own church and country better. — " If 
" I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget 
*' its cunning. If I do not remember thee, may my 
*' tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer 
<* not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 

It is with a view to nourish the same sentiments 
in you, that I have indulged in remarks which some 
may think unnecessary and invidious. But what I 
have said, has been dictated by a paramount sense 
of duty, which, when clear and decided, ought not 
to look to personal consequences — by a deep and de- 
liberate conviction that you cannot be made sensible 
of the great superiority of your own church in many 
particulars of human arrangement, but by the compa- 
rison which I have made. And you ought to know 
and to feel this superiority, not for the purpose (I re- 
peat it) of nourishing a foolish vain-glory, but of che» 



38 The United States of America 

rishing that enlightened and warm attachment to your 
church, which only will lead to zealous and unabating 
endeavours to preserve her purity, and extend her hal- 
lowed influence. 

Nor is this comparison without another important 
object. Common opinion often identifies our church 
not merely in the cardinal points of faith, of ministry, 
and of worship, in which we are proud thus to be 
identified, with the Church of England, but in the 
organization which results from her connection with 
the state. This erroneous view of our church has sub- 
jected her, in various places and at different times, to 
an odium which, preventing a dispassionate examina- 
tion of her real character, of her Apostolic and primi- 
tive claims, has seriously retarded her progress. It 
has been insinuated, if not openly asserted, that we 
secretly desired the establishment, the honours, and 
the wealth of the Church of England. God for- 
bid (I speak reverently and most seriously) that we 
should ever have them. It may be doubted whether 
in their present operation they are a blessing to tha 
Church of England. They weigh down her Apostolic 
principles; they obstruct the exercise of her legiti- 
mate powers ; they subject her to worldly policy ; they 
infect her with worldly views. Still in her doctrines, 
in her ministry, in her worship, she is ** all glorious 
*' within" — and thanks to the sound and orthodox and 



compared witk — England. 39 

jealous Clergy, who have been faithful to her princi- 
ples, she is still the great joy and the great blessing of 
the land. It would be irnposssible to sever the church 
from the state without a convulsion which would up- 
root both, and thus destroy the fairest fabric of social 
and religious happiness in the European world. But 
many of the abuses to which secular interest and views 
have subjected the Church of England, and many even 
of the original defects of her constitution, might be, 
and may we not hope will be, corrected and remedied 
by the gradual but powerful influence o^ public opinion. 
And it therefore is a high act of duty and of friendship 
to that church, to direct the public attention to those 
abuses and defects.* For if the Church of England 
were displayed in her evangelical and apostolic cha- 
racter, purified and reformed from many abuses which 
have gradually but seriously diminished her influence ; 
greater would be the blessings she would diffuse, more 
limited and less inveterate the dissent from her, and 



i « The author has not the vanity or the presumption to suppose, 
that his opinions will be considered as of so much importance in 
England, as to excite any solicitude as to their nature or their 
operation. But he must say, that fervently and deeply attached 
to the Church of England in her apostolic and primitive character, 
if he were one of her clergy, and occupied a station of influence, 
he should feel it an imperious duty, and the highest evidence of his 
attachment to her, to proclaim precisely the same opinions which 
he has expressed in this discourse-; 



40 The United States of America 

more devoted the grateful attachment of her mem- 
bers. We want not, therefore, the wealth, the honours, 
or the establishment of the Church of England. With 
the union of church and state commenced the great 
corruptions of Christianity. And so firmly persuaded 
am I of the deleterious effects of this union, that if I 
must choose the one or the other, I would take the 
persecution of the state rather than her favour, her 
frowns rather than her smiles, her repulses rather than 
her embraces." It is the eminent privilege of our 
church, that, evangelical in her doctrines and her wor- 
ship, and apostolic in her ministry, she stands as the 
primitive church did,^ before the first Christian em- 
peror loaded her with the honours that proved more 
injurious to her than the relentless persecution of his 
imperial predecessors. In this enviable land of religi- 
ous freedom, our church, in common with every other 
religious denomination, asks nothing from the state 
but that which she does not fear will ever be denied 
her — protection, equal and impartial protection. 

" Perhaps these expressions are too strong. I know they are 
thought so by some whose judgments I greatly respect. But I must 
confess, T think they are justified by tlie view which history affords 
of the effects of state influence on the church. 

X In this view, as identified with the church in the first and 
purest ages of Christianity, how exahed is her character, how 
responsible her situation, and how momentous the duties of her 
clergy and her people. 



compared with — England. 41 

My brethren, I have done — I have laid before you 
at this interesting period of meeting you after a long 
absence, some of the thoughts and feelings that have 
occupied my mind. But there is still one weight of 
which you must allow me to disburden myself — that 
of gratitude to you. You sympathized kindly and 
tenderly with me in the illness that disabled me from 
serving you. You pressed my voyage abroad. As a 
vestry, and individually, you made the most ample 
provision for me. I left you with your kindest wishes, 
attentions, and prayers. I left you with the hope in- 
deed, that I should meet you again ; but truly, with 
some apprehension that it might be otherwise. But I 
left you with a heart solaced and cheered by your 
kindness; the recollection of which cheered many 
lonely moments, solaced many days of solitude and 
sickness, in distant lands. Through the protection 
and favour of a gracious Providence, I meet you ; 
and I am greeted with a welcome, oh let me say 
so, that my heart delights to think, is an evidence 
that I have a stronger hold on your affections and 
your confidence than I supposed I possessed — and 
beheve me, than I think I deserve. I ought to be the 
happiest of men ; and considering what I owe to my 
congregations and my diocese, I ought to be the best 
of Pastors and the best of Bishops. In the strong sense 
of my obligations to God for his mercies, not the least 

6 



42 The United States compared with — England, 

of which are your confidence and attachment which 
bind me to your service, I will, by his grace, aim at 
what I cannot hope to attain. And may he, the Author 
of all good, the God and Father of our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ, bestow on you his choicest bless- 
ings ; not merely the temporal joys of a fading life, but 
the rich blessings of his mercy and grace in Jesus 
Christ, through the ages of eternity. 



APPENDIX, No. I. 

;Extract from the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 

" Article I. 
" There shall be a General Convention of the Protestant Epis«= 
" copal Church in the United States of America, at such time in 
<* every third year, and in such place, as shall be determined by 
" the convention ; and in case there shall be an epidemic disease, 
" or any other good cause to render it necessary to alter the place 
" fixed on for any such meeting of the convention, the presiding 
^' Bishop shall have it in his power to appoint another convenient 
" place (as near as may be to ihe place so fixed on) for the holding 
*^ of such convention : and special meetings may be called at other 
'•times, in the manner hereafter to be provided for; and this 
^' Church, in a majority of the states which shall have adopted this 
^' constitution, shall be represented, before they shall proceed to 
*' business ; except that th« representation from two states shall be 
*^ sufficient to adjourn : and in all business of the convention, free- 
" dom of debate shall be allowed." 

^* Article III. 
" The Bishops of this Church, when there shall be three or 
" more, shall, whenever General Conventions are held, form a 
" separate house, with a right to originate and propose acts, for 
^' the concurrence of the House of Deputies, composed of clergy 
" and laity : and when any proposed act shall have passed the 
" House of Deputies, the same shall be transmitted to the House 
" of Bishops, who shall have a negative thereupon ; and all acts 
'' of the convention shall be authenticated by both houses. And 
" in all cases, the House of Bishops shall signify to the convention 
" their approbation or disapprobation (the latter with their reasons 
" in writing) within three days after the proposed act shall have 
*' been reported to them for concurrence; and in failure thereof, 
" it shall have the operation of a law. But until there shall be 
" three or more Bishops, as aforesaid, any Bishop attending a 
" General Convention shall be a member ex ojicio, and shall vote 
*^ with the clerical deputies of the state to which he belongs; and 
'^ a Bishop shall then preside.*' 



44 APPENDIX. 

" Of Candidates for Orders, 

*^ Every person who wishes to become a candidate for orders 
" in this church, shall give notice of his intention to the Bishop, or 
" to such body as the church in the diocese or state in which he 
" intends to apply for orders may appoint, at least one year before 
" his ordination. 

" No person shall be considered as a candidate for orders in this 
" church, unless he shall have produced to the Bishop of the di- 
" ocese or state to whom he intends to apply for orders, a certifi- 
" cate from the standing committee of said diocese or state, that 
" ihey believe, from personal knowledge, or from testimonials laid. 
" before them, that he hath lived piously, soberly, and honestly; 
" that he is attached to the dt)ctrines, discipline, and worship of 
" tie Protestant Episcopal Church ; and further, that in their 
" opinion he possesses such iiualifications as may render him apt 
" and meet to exercise the ministry to the glory of God and the 
" edifying of the church. 

*^ With this enumeration of qualifications, it ought to be made 
*^ known lo the candidate, that the church expects of him, what 
*' can never be brought to the test of any outward standard — an 
" inward fear and worship of Almighty God; a love of religion, 
" and sensibility to its holy inliuence; an habit of devout affec- 
" tion; and, in short, a cultivation of all those graces which are 
^' called in Scripture the fruits of the Spirit, and by which alone 
*' his sacred influences can be manifested. 

" The Bishop may then admit the person as a candidate for 
'* orders." 

" Of the preparatory Exercises of a Candidate for Deacon^s 
" Orders. 
" There shall be assigned to every candidate for deacon's orders 
^^ four different examinations, at such times and places as the Bishop 
" to whom he applies for orders shall appoint. And if there be a 
^^ Bishop within the state or diocese where the candidate resides, 
*' he shall apply to no other Bishop for ordination without the 
" permission of the former. The examinations shall take place 
" in the presence of the Bishop and as many Presbyters as can 
" conveniently be convened, on the following studies prescribed by 
** the canons, and by the course of study esiablished by the house 
*' of Bishops. 



APPENDIX. 45 

" At the first examination — on some approved treatises on 
" natural philcsophj', moral philosof by, and ibetoric. and the 
*' Greek Testament; and be shall be required to give an account 
<* of his faith in the Latin tongue. At the second examination — 
" on the books of Scripture; the candidate being required to give 
*' an account of the different books, and to explain such passages 
" as may be proposed to him At the third examination — on the 
" evidences of Christianity, and systematic divinity. And at the 
" last examination — on church history, ecclesiastical polity, the 
" Book of Common Prayer, and the constitution and canons of 
" the church, and of the diocese or state for which he is to be 
" ordained. In the choice of books on the above subjects, the 
'* candidate is to be guided by the course of study established by 
" the House o( Bishops. At each of the forementioned examina- 
' " tions he shall produce and read a sermon or discourse, composed 
" by himself on some passage of Scripture previously assigned 
" him; which sermon or discourse shall be submitted to the criti- 
" cism of the Bishop and Clergy present. And before his ordina- 
" tion he shall be required to perform such exercises in reading, 
'^ in the pre.sence of the Bishop and Clergy, as may enable them 
" to give him such advice and instructions as may aid him in per- 
" forming the service of the church, and in delivering his sermons 
^^ with propriety and devotion.'' 



No. II. 

Extract from the Statutes of the General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America. 

" Of the Course of Theological Learning. 

" The Course of Theological Learning to be pursued in this 
" Seminary shall embrace the following departments : — 

^' 1. Oriental and Greek Literature; comprising the knowledge 
" which is necessary to the critical study of the Holy Scriptures 
" in the original languages. 

" 2. Biblical Learning; comprehending whatever relates to the 
" criticism of the sacred text. 



40 APPENDIX* 

<^ S. The Interpretation of the Scriptures ; exhibitinsf the prin- 
" ciples of scriptural interpretation, and the meaning and practicstl 
" application of the sacred writings. 

" 4. The Evidences of Revealed Religion ; establishing the 
^' genuineness, authenticity, and credibility of the Scriptures, and 
" a view of the character and effects of Christianity, of the various 
" objections of infidel writers, with a refutation of them, and of 
" moral science in its relations to theology. 

" 5. Systematic Divinity; presenting a methodical arrange^ 
" ment and explanation of the truths contained in the Scriptures, 
'< with the authorities sustaining these truths ; a statement aud re* 
" futation of the erroneous doctrines attempted to be deduced from 
" the sacred writings ; and a particular view and defence of the 
" system of faith professed by the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

" 6. Ecclesiastical History; displaying the history of the Church 
" in all ages, and particularly of the Church of England, and of 
" the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country. 

" 7. The Nature, Ministry, and Polity of the Church, com- 
" prising a view of the nature of the Christian Church, and of the 
" duty of preserving its unity ; of the authority and orders of the 
" ministry; with a statement and elucidation of the principles of 
" ecclesiastical polity, and an explanation and defence of that of 
" the Protestant Episcopal Church ; and also an exhibition of the 
" authority and advantages of liturgical service, with a history, 
" explanation, and defence of the Liturgy of the Protestant Epis- 
" copal Church, and of its rites and ceremonies. 

" 8. Pastoral Theology and Pulpit Eloquence; explaining and 
" enforcing the qualifications and duties of the clerical office ; and 
" including the performance of the service of the Church; and the 
^^ composition and delivery of sermons. 

" Of the Professors, 

" The Instructions of this Seminary shall be conducted by the 
'' following Professors, viz. — 

'^ 1. A Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature. 

"'^2. A Professor of Biblical Learning and the Interpretation 
^'' of Scripture. 

" 3. A Professor of the Evidences of Revealed Religion, and of 
'' Moral Science in its relations to Theology. 

"' 4» A ProfessQr of Systematic Divinity. 



"5. A I^rofessdf of Ecclesiastical History, and the Nature, 
" Ministry, and Polity of the Church. 

" 6i A Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pulpit Eloquence. 

«« Oft/te Students. 

" As- niere theological learning, tinaccompanied with real piety, 
*' is not a sufficient qualification for the ministry, it is declared to 
" be the duty of every student, with an humble reliance on divine 
" grace, to be assiduous in the cuhivation of evangelical faith, and 
" a sound practical piety; neither contenting himself with mere 
" formality, nor running into fanaticism. He must be careful to 
** maintain, every day, stated periods of pious reading, meditation, 
" and devotion 5 and occasional special seasons for the more so- 
" lemn and enlarged observance of these duties, together with that 
" of such abstinence as is suited to extraordinary acts of devotion, 
" having due regard to the days and seasons recommended for this 
" purpose by the Church. In order to excite just views of the na- 
" ture, responsibilities, and obligations of the clerical office, he 
" should frequently and carefully read over the services for the 
'^ ordination of Deacons and Priests, with a view of making their 
" contents the subjects of serious reflection, and an incitement to 
" fervent prayer, that, if admitted to either of those offices, he may 
** have grace to be faithful in the discharge of its duties. He must 
" be regular in attendance on the public service of the Church, not 
" only on Sundays, but also, as his studies and other duties will 
" admit, on holy-days and prayer-days. Sundays, in particular, 
** he should consider as devoted, except the portions of them oc- 
" cupied in the stated services of the Church, to the private use of 
" means for his advancement in Christian kffowledge and piety. 
" And with a v^ew to the promotion of the same great object, it 
" shall be the duty of the Professors to commence their respective 
" lectures or recitations with an office of devotion appointed for 
" the purpose, and to incorporate with their instructions, as op- 
** portunity is afforded, such advice and directions as may tend to 
" the religious improvement of the students, and to their proper 
" view of the true character and weighty obligations of the Gospel 
" ministry. 

«* Of the Course of Study, 

" There shall be three classes in the Seminary ; the term of 
^* study in each of which shall be one year. The students who 



4S APPENDIX. 

'* enter the first year, shall compose the third class; those ad- 
" vanced into the second year, the second class ; and those into 
'^ the third year, the first class 

" The course of study in the different classes shall be as follows : 

" All the classes shall, on one day in each week, from the 
" commencement of the first session of each year, and through the 
" second session until the last of May, and as often on the day ap- 
<^ pointed as he may re(juire, attend the Professor of Pastoral The- 
" ology and Pulpit Eloquence, for the performance of the services 
" of the Church, the delivery of original sermons, and the instruc- 
« tions and recitations, or other exercises, to which he may think 
" proper to call their attention, 

" In addition to the above, the foUovvinjr course of studies shall 
" be pursued : — 

" Third Class. This class shall attend the instructions of the 
" Professors of Oriental and Greek Literature ; of Biblical Learn- 
" ing, and the Interpretation of Scripture : and of the Evidences 
" of Revealed Religion, and of Moral Science in its relations to 
" Theology; at least one half of their time being devoted, during 
" the first session, to the first named of the above Professors. 

" Second Class. During the first session, this class shall attend 
" the Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ; the Professor 
" of Biblical Learning, &c. ; and the Professor of the Evidences of 
" Christianity. During the second session, they shall devote four- 
" fifths of their time not occupied as above stated with the Pro- 
" fessor of Pastoral Theology, to the Professors of Systematic Di- 
" vinity, and of Ecclesiastical History, and the Nature, Ministry, 
" and Polity of the Christian Church ; and the remainder to the 
" Professor of Biblical Learning, &c. 

" First Class. This class shall attend the Professors of Syste~ 
" raatic Divinity and of Ecclesiastical History, &c." 



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